Definitions for Thesaurusθɪˈsɔr əs; -ˈsɔr aɪ

Here are all the possible meanings and translations of the word Thesaurus.

Princeton's WordNet(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

thesaurus, synonym finder(noun)

a book containing a classified list of synonyms

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

thesaurus(Noun)

A publication, usually in the form of a book, that provides synonyms (and sometimes antonyms) for the words of a given language.

"Roget" is the leading brand name for a print English thesaurus that lists words under general concepts rather than just close synonyms.

thesaurus(Noun)

A dictionary or encyclopedia.

thesaurus(Noun)

A hierarchy of subject headingsu2014canonic titles of themes and topics, the titles serving as search keys.

Origin: 16th century, from thesaurus, from θησαυρός; its current English usage/meaning was established soon after the publication of Peter Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases in 1852

Webster Dictionary(4.67 / 3 votes)Rate this definition:

Thesaurus(noun)

a treasury or storehouse; hence, a repository, especially of knowledge; -- often applied to a comprehensive work, like a dictionary or cyclopedia

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

Thesaurus

In general usage, a thesaurus is a reference work that lists words grouped together according to similarity of meaning, in contrast to a dictionary, which provides definitions for words, and generally lists them in alphabetical order.The main purpose of such reference works is to help the user “to find the word, or words, by which [an] idea may be most fitly and aptly expressed” – to quote Peter Roget, architect of the best known thesaurus in the English language.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

Thesaurus

thē-saw′rus, n. a treasury or repository, esp. of knowledge: a lexicon or cyclopædia. [L.,—Gr. thēsauros—tithēmi, I place.]